Lee Johnson is a candidate to replace Burnley manager Sean Dyche as the Premier League boss eyes a summer exit, according to a report.
The Daily Mail say that Dyche has had a falling out with Clarets chairman Mike Garlick amid frustration over failing to tie down senior players to contract extensions.
He is also perturbed by the fact that there will be little transfer budget in the summer and is now considering an early exit from the club despite having two years left on his current deal.
He will surely have a long list of suitors after leading Burnley to the Europa League during his time as boss, but the reports suggests that Bristol City manager Johnson is one name on a list of candidates to replace Dyche, should he leave.
Johnson has been with the Robins since February 2016, guiding them to improved league finishes in every season as manager and is being eyed for a job in the top end of English football.
The Mail report that former Southampton and Manchester City manager Mark Hughes is also on the shortlist should Johnson leave.
It may be difficult to pry the former Barnsley manager away from Bristol City. Johnson is settled in the City with his family and is clearly on a project with the club to get them into the Premier League.
He has the backing of CEO Mark Ashton and owner Steve Lansdown and with three years remaining on his current contract a hefty compensation package with surely be heading City's way if Burnley did want to pay him out.
However, Johnson has never denied the fact that he wants to manage in the Premier League and his success in pushing Bristol City up the Championship will not have gone unnoticed.
Despite this, Mark Ashton has said before that he is not afraid of losing Johnson to a Premier League club as he backs the project that City are on.
He told Bristol Live in December: "No, bizarrely I don’t worry about it. Listen, I want Lee, I want players and I want staff to be the best they can be and experience life in the Premier League, but I want them to experience it with Bristol City.
"If any player of staff member feel that there progression is moving quicker than the clubs and its right for them to go, then its' right for them to go. But I’ll tell you what, the grass isn’t always greener.
"I think, and people get bored of me saying it, but and our ownership and our stability is so important."
Former City defender Dyche, who signed Josh Brownhill from the club in January, has previously been linked with the likes of West Ham and Crystal Palace and may be on the job search come the summer.
If that is the case, Lee Johnson could be left with a decision to make.
